The Merge

• E53 – The Fighter Pilot Spirit

  Chris "Snooze" Kurek, Rob “Trip” Raymond, and Erik“EZ” Brine chat with Mike “Pako” Benitez on all things fighter pilot culture—toast, roast, and lore.Better known as Dos Gringos, Snooze, and Trip put out 4albums of fighter pilot songs that are famous (and infamous) in squadrons around the world. EZ joined the duo to form Operation Encore in 2012, a non-profit that helps veterans get their music into the world.We dig into a century of fighter pilot history and traditions, from the origins of Dos Gringos, the squadron culture, roll call,Jermiah Weed, the ribbing and roasting, and all the camaraderie associated with military aviation.They recently brought all of that into their latest venture, Winglore Spirits, and are doing it in a unique way that brings you into the fold. Links• Sign up for the ⁠newsletter⁠⁠! • Support us on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠!• ⁠Winglore Spirits⁠ • ⁠Winglore Spirits⁠ investing• ⁠Dos Gringos⁠ YouTube channel  ---- Follow us on...• ⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠• Instagram⁠⁠• ⁠⁠X⁠⁠• ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠• ⁠⁠Website⁠⁠ ---- 00:0001:47 Dos Gringos17:22 Operation Encore24:03 AI music27:27 The culture and bar origins34:27 Jermiah Weed38:13 Winglore Spirits42:03 Bogey Dope43:16 Nickel on the Grass45:29 Winglore squadron50:42 the Nellis Club52:02 Dos Gringos concert?54:45 outro55:04 Carlos jumps in56:23 I wish I had a gun like the A-10

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• E52 – Top Secret Offices

  Nooks co-founder and CEO Sean Blackman spills all thesecrets about what it takes to do classified business with the Pentagon. Nooks is a venture-backed startup founded in 2021 to solve amassive pain point: access to classified offices and networks to perform sensitive national security work.Nooks is attacking the problem in an innovative way called Classified-Infrastructure-as-a-Service (CIaaS), which is a subscription access to a nationwide network of classifiedworkspaces and IT.If you are in the defense industry—or even thinking about it—and there is even a sliver of a chance you will touch classified work, this episode is everything you need to know.  Links• Sign up for the newsletter⁠! • Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠!• Nooks website• Nooks LinkedIn ---- Follow us on...• LinkedIn• Instagram⁠• ⁠X⁠• ⁠Facebook⁠• ⁠Website⁠ ---- 00:0000:46 intro01:49 Nooks02:52 origin story09:49 name and logo12:30 locations and spaces13:30 location and the real value unlock17:57 COVID19:20 fractional labs20:06 fundraising for a weird company22:01 information disadvantage23:33 myth of hiring security clearances30:00 SCIF34:09 mobile SCIF39:23 touchpoints and impact42:13 security in shared spaces46:48 the real impact47:36 magic wand - crystal ball49:50 make the problem go awaysecrets, top secret, military, technology, tech, defense, national security, air force, navy, army, marine corps, usmc

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• E51 – Red 6 and the Military Metaverse

  Red 6 CEO and co-founder Dan Robinson discusses augmented reality for pilots, the military metaverse, and the future of high-end training and tactics development.Red 6 was founded in 2018 around a revolutionary approach to military flight training called ATARS—the Advanced Tactical Augmented Reality System—that creates virtual outdoor worlds to deliver threat-relevant,near-peer-level training scenarios.It’s much more than an augmented reality helmet—it's rethinking the entire pilot training and readiness experience. Links• Sign up for the newsletter⁠! • Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠!• Red 6 homepage• Red 6 LinkedIn• Red 6 IG• Red6CEO IG ---- Follow us on...• LinkedIn• Instagram⁠• ⁠X⁠• ⁠Facebook⁠• ⁠Website⁠ ---- 00:0000:42 intro01:41 origin story05:22 thesis of Red 606:17 co-founder meeting10:43 lack of adversaries to train against16:03 realism that gets missed17:58 surface threats21:03 progress and iteration25:25 all of the technical challenges27:20 suspension of disbelief30:37 replacing helmet-mounted cueing32:09 Enders Game34:18 the Red 6 name35:59 UK Royal Air Force38:33 manned + unmanned45:08 validating tactics and training51:34 quality vs quantity training54:30 the technology is coming55:21 flying 56:43 the chief morale officer

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• E50 – JDAM: the GPS-Guided Bomb

  Mike sits down with Steve “Wingie” Wingfield to discuss the Joint Direct Attack Munition, aka the JDAM—the world’s first operational GPS-aided bomb.Wingie played a big role in the Air Force, doing weaponsflight testing and requirements writing, then went on to have another career at Boeing working on JDAM and other weapons. He’s one of the few people who got to see the entire storyarc, from the pain points in Desert Storm that started the whole thing, to other evolutions like Laser JDAM and extended range JDAM, and how those programscame to be.If you want a rare inside look at how one of the most successful acquisition programs in the past 30 years happened, this episode is for you. Links• Sign up for the newsletter⁠! • Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠! ---- Follow us on...• LinkedIn• Instagram⁠• ⁠X⁠• ⁠Facebook⁠• ⁠Website⁠ ---- 00:0001:02 intro05:43 JDAM name origin06:56 accuracy spec origin10:43 Desert Storm McPeak Memo11:16 GAM before JDAM12:29 Kosovo combat debut14:39 40k for 40k competition17:44 JDAM adoption22:50 production feast & famine25:19 9/11 demand signal26:33 surging with standards28:43 Iraqi Freedom GPS jamming29:53 Laser JDAM origins33:38 the impact36:01 hitting moving targets37:54 106 mph!39:39 MOP41:33 JDAM-ER41:47 Ukraine42:53 integration and modularity43:41 aerial mining46:22 outro #military #airforce #navy #aviation #tech #technology #JDAM #boeing #GPS #defense #desert storm #iraq #syria #afghanistan #miltech #engineering #USA #security

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• E49 – Ursa Major Solid Rocket Motors

  In this episode, Mike sits down with Dan Jablonsky, CEO ofUrsa Major, to discuss solid rocket motors and how Ursa Major is doing it differently.Once dominated by just two suppliers, America’s SRM propulsion base has been stretched thin—leaving gaps exposed by today’s conflicts. Dan explains how Ursa Major is tackling that challenge withmodular production, 3D printing, Highly Loaded Grain propellants, and advanced manufacturing using what they’ve learned from their liquid motor product lines.We also talk about the big picture: hypersonics, cruisemissiles, and upcoming programs with RTX (Raytheon), the U.S. Navy (SM-2, SM-3, SM-6), the Army, and Stratolaunch.If you want to understand why missile production is one of the biggest defense challenges of our time—and how new entrants like Ursa Major are building solutions—this episode is for you. Links• Sign up for the newsletter⁠! • Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠!• Ursa Major website• Ursa Major LinkedIn• Ursa Major Instagram • Ursa Major X ---- Follow us on... • LinkedIn• Instagram⁠• ⁠X⁠• ⁠Facebook⁠• ⁠Website⁠ ---- 00:0000:42 intro01:04 Ursa Major02:22 company name03:48 getting into the SRM business05:29 SRM industrial base07:15 doing SRMs differently09:14 SRM 10112:07 Highly Loaded Grain13:08 increasing missile range15:34 rapid development16:44 scale with safety22:25 rapidly adapting SRMs to the threat23:03 3D printing everything?24:59 hypersonic motors27:20 missiles in space27:47 affordable mass29:14 outro

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